Fabric and method of knitting



Aug. 5, 1941. E. s'r. PIERRE EIAL Filed Aug. 9, 1939 I, Ii 1. I .M H Luis .c

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Patented Aug. 5, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE McDowell, Philadelphia,

Pa., assignors to Hemphill Company, Central Falls, It. 1., a; corporation of Massachusetts Application August 9, 1939, Serial No. 289,260

(outs-472) 7 Claims.

This case has for its subject matter an invention in knitted fabrics and method of making the same.

In the figures of drawing:

Fig. 1 is a conventional illustration of a section of fabric according to the invention, the same being shown greatly enlarged; and

Fig. 2 is an elevation of a half hose, one example of hosiery to which the invention can be applied.

In St. Pierre Patent #2,131,720 an elastic yarn has been shown as incorporated at virtually every course although that fabric is preferably knitted on a machine having two feeding stations. The non-elastic yarn is continuously fed to knit at all needles at a so-called main feed and the elastic yarn feeds practically continuously at a socalled auxiliary feeding station but to spaced or alternate needles only. In certain instances it may be desirable to incorporate less elastic in the hosiery top, this either for the saving resulting from using less of that relatively expensive material or to provide a fabric with less elastic for other reasons. Heretofore the common expedient for spacing elastic coursewise or for using less material has been to withdraw the elastic yarn from feeding throughout a course of courses. For example, one common scheme is to feed elastic yarn for a course and then to .withdraw it for three consecutive courses whereupon it isagain introduced to the needles. This Will result in a coursewise spacing of the elastic material with a short walewise float between courses in which the elastic is knitted or otherwise introduced.

The scheme herein described and illustrated provides for feeding the elastic so that it will appear in virtually every fourth course, and thus a garter top knitted as herein described will con tain considerably less of this elastic material, but will still contain a characteristic rib appearance provided by such fabric as knitted in United States Patent #2,131,720 and may be knitted by a very simple mechanism and method. The auxiliary side of the machine is to be provided with two yarn feeding levers, one to feed elastic as in the patent above mentioned, while the other is to feed a non-elastic yarn similar to that fed at the so-called main side of the machine. The main side will be employed to feed a non-elastic yarn continuously as in said patent. The two levers at the auxiliary side will alternate'in feeding so that elastic feeds for one revolution of the machine while the non-elastic material feeds on the next and so on.

, The foot 6, heel I and toe 8 are or may be of any 'or in other uniformly spaced wales.

the said elastic has contracted as it will since it is fed under some tension although a light tension preferably, After the initial course of elastic I is knitted and. withdrawn, at the auxiliary side, a second non-elastic yarn 3, preferably similar to yarn 2 so that in the fabric they. match, will be fed so that a course B will be knitted between the first course A and a second course C knitted at the main side of the machine. Course B is knitted by feeding the yarn 3 to alternate needles or to those needles which knitted the elastic yarn I and will continue to knit that yarn and the yarn 3 throughout the fabric.

Of course, instead of knitting yarns I and 3 on every other needle as alternate needles, they may be knitted on every third needle, fourth needle The elastic, although fed under light tension, will contract sufiiciently to impart to the fabric a characteristic rib appearance and to give the con-' yarn 2 is knitting at the main side continuously and at all, needles while at the auxiliary side yarn I knits throughout one revolution of the needle cylinder or other rotary element, while on the next revolution the yarn 3 feeds in the same manner and knits in the same way the elastic yarn would. As a variation, yarn 3 might knit.

on all needles at the auxiliary side, but that would require additional needle control and for thatv reason would not be as desirable. This method of knitting may be employed throughout the en tire top or a portion thereof if so desired.

In Fig. 2 a typical half hose is shown in which the invention may be applied although ,the same is equally applicable to other types of hosiery. The fabric as illustrated in Fig. 1 may be knitted throughout the entire top 4 which simulates a rib top of the usual type on leg 5 of this half hose.

of the usual constructions employed in this type ofhosiery. v Such tops as herein described may be knitted in string work and transferred or otherwise applied to other classes of hosiery such as that knitted on full fashioned machines. The invention is defined in the appending claims.

It is claimed: v

1. A knittedstocking top having elastic yarn incorporated therein at spaced wales and at spaced courses, said elastic yarn being knitted at spaced wales in a course, then a non-elastic yarn on all Wales in the next course, a difierent nonelastic yarn in spaced wales at the next course and the first non-elastic yarn again in all wales on the next course, this being repeated throughout a predetermined extent of the said top.

2. A knitted stocking top with elastic yarn incorporated therein at spaced courses and at spaced wales having an elastic yarn knitted on every other wale in one course, a non-elastic yarn at all wales in the next course, a different nonelastic yarn at alternate wales in the next course and thereafter in the fourth course, the first mentioned non-elastic yarn at all wales, this being repeated throughout a predetermined extent non-elastic yarn again in all wales in the following course, and repeating the cycle throughout a desired portion of the top. a

4. A method of knitting a stocking top having elastic yarn incorporated therein including the knitting of an elastic yarn in such a manner that it is held at spaced wales in a course, knitting a non-elastic yarn in a next following course,

course, and repeating the cycle throughout a desired portion of the top.

5. A method of knitting a fabric having elastic yarn incorporated therein including the knitting of an elastic yarn in spaced wales in a course,

. knitting a non-elastic yarn in the next course,

then a second non-elastic yarn in spaced wales in the next course, and the first mentioned nonelastic yarn again in all wales in the following course, and repeating the cycle throughout a desired portion of the top.

6.-A method of knitting a fabric having elastic yarn incorporated therein including the knitting of an elastic yarn in such a manner that it is held at spaced wales in a course, knitting a nonelastic yarn in a next following course, then a second non-elastic yarn inspaced wales in the next course, and the first mentioned non-elastic yarn again in all wales in the following course, and repeating the cycle throughout a desired portion of the top.

7. A method of knitting a stocking top having an elastic yarn incorporated therein including the knitting of an elastic yarn to be heldat alternate wales in a course, knitting 'anon-elastic yarn at all wales in the next following course, then knitting a second non-elastic yarn in spaced wales in the next course, said second non-elastic yarn being knitted in the same wales as the elastic yarn, and thereafter in a next following course, knitting the first mentioned non-elastic yarn in all wales, and repeating this cycle throughout a desired portion of the top.

EUGENE ST. PIERRE. GEORGE McDOWELL, 

